They Live
by Toa Allanon
Summary: A cliche oneshot about toys coming to life. They live. Have you seen them?


Author's note: I realize this is very cliche, Toy Story-ish type of a story. However, it is a topic that often crosses my mind as I play with my Bionicle toys. I wrote this story many years ago for a Bionicle fan site.

**They Live**

It happens. It's always a freak accident, but it still happens. No one knows for sure why it happens or how. Somehow, toys come to life. Some say it happens in the factory. Some say it happens when they are shipped to the store. Some say it happens in the store. But no matter how it happens, it does. I've seen it.

I was just standing in the toy section one day, browsing the selections. I was the only one. The store wasn't busy that day, at least not in the toy section. Plus, there was a sale in the store across the street. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned to look. I expected to at least see a human.

But I didn't see anyone at first. Then I saw it. It was Lewa Nuva. The eight inch tall Lego being was climbing one of the shelves. The shelf had puzzles on it. Lewa would stop at each shelf and look at all the pictures on the puzzle boxes. I rubbed my eyes but Lewa was still there.

Then he spoke. "There still aren't any new ones up here," he muttered. Then he pointed at one of the piles of puzzles. "Ooh! Lookie! Someone took a puppy puzzle!"

There was a chorus of "Shhh!" I jumped and looked around. I saw Kopaka Nuva on top of the shelves in between some boxes that he could quickly hide behind. I saw Gali Nuva on the floor. Tahu Nuva was next to her.

"Shut up airhead!" Tahu hissed. "Do you want to be found out?"

"It wouldn't matter. These humans are too weird to believe everything they see. They are either on medications with side effects or they are too young to be believed. So no one would believe that I was really here," Lewa said with a smile.

"That's too risky of a chance to take," Gali said. "Even if you don't care about being caught, we'd like to remain free."

Lewa shrugged and started climbing up to the next shelf. "Ah! A new puzzle at last," Lewa said in a loud whisper. He gasped. "It's a waterfall!" he squealed excitedly. Then he took the top box down so he could look at the larger picture. He sighed and gazed at the picture longingly. He was facing me when he was looking at the picture. Then he glanced up. He saw me and froze. "Uh oh."

I looked around quickly, just in time to see Gali and Tahu dive under the shelves and Kopaka disappear behind the boxes. Lewa dropped down and became stiff, like the toys were. I ran over to him and picked him up. But try as I might, he didn't show any signs of life. I put him back on the shelf and dropped to the ground. I looked under the shelves but I couldn't see any sign of Tahu or Gali. But there were marks in the dust, like tiny beings had been crawling around.

I looked back up to Lewa and stared in surprise. He wasn't there. But the puzzle was still out. I wondered if I had imagined it. But I was convinced that I had not. I heard them, I saw them, the puzzle wasn't with the rest of its kind, there was the disturbed dust, I had held Lewa, and I had put Lewa back on the shelf. I looked around again but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I left the store in amazement and anticipation. I had to come back again. I could only hope that I would see them again.

A month went by before I saw them again. I went back to the store every day but there were always too many people in the toy aisles. Then, one day, I got a lucky break. There were major sales at other stores around the city so there weren't very many people in the store. I stood as still as could be in the aisle with the Lego for a long time.

Then I started hearing a strange thumping sound. I didn't know it at the time, but I was about to witness a toy coming to life. I looked around slowly, trying to locate the source of the noise without revealing my location. Then I saw it. It was one of the Rahkshi canisters. It was jolting every now and then, as if the toy inside was trying to get out. As I watched in anticipation the canister fell off the shelf. It knocked off several others as it did. Then I saw Kopaka Nuva and Tahu Nuva rush to the canister. They both quickly started cutting the seal with their swords.

"Shhh! Be quiet," Tahu said hurriedly to the Panrahk within. "You'll be out in a sec."

The two Toa Nuva struggled to unscrew the lid. They finally unscrewed it and the brown Rahkshi rushed out of the canister. (What amazed me later, as I was thinking about it, was that the Rahkshi was all put together within the canister.) The light blinded the creature, making him cower.

"Quick, get him to the hiding place," Tahu ordered Kopaka. Kopaka glared at Tahu but grabbed the Rahkshi's wrist and ran off with him.

"Onua!" Tahu called in a loud whisper as he struggled to pick up the canister's lid. A moment later Onua Nuva appeared and grabbed the canister. Then the two Toa dashed off as fast as they could with their cargo. The next moment they were gone. The only thing indicating that this happened was the other Rahkshi canisters strewn across the aisle floor. I picked them up and put them back on the shelf.

I continued to come back to the store every day to see them. Once I thought I caught a glimpse of Kopaka reading a book and Pohatu jumping on one of the pillows but when I went to look they weren't there. Then I thought I saw Panrahk flying across the ceiling. A week later I caught a glimpse of a Vahki in the computer games section.

Then my family moved far, far away. I can find no trace of live toys in the local store. I have waited for months but I have neither seen nor heard any. Once I thought I heard the buzz of a Rahkshi in flight but I didn't see any. I long to return to the store of the live Bionicles. I wonder what they are doing now. I still have hope for the new local store though. Once I walked into the lego and I saw Bionicle Makuta and Takanuva boxes strewn all over the floor, as if they were knocked down by a Bionicle coming to life.

They live. Have you seen them?


End file.
